Bernanke remarks send Wall Street sliding

Ben Bernanke, the US Federal Reserve chairman, may have postponed his testimony to the House of Representatives because of heavy snow, but his prepared remarks have sent markets slip, sliding away.

He said - or to be more accurate, was to have said - that although the US economy still needed the support of "highly accomodative monetary policies" the Fed would need to tighten financial conditions "at some point."

Not very specific, obviously, but enough to remind investors that the Fed was likely to be planning an exit from the unprecedented economic support it has been providing.

So Wall Street is down the best part of 90 points and the FTSE 100 - in positive territory most of the day so far - has slipped 2 points to 5109.84. The uncertainty over Greece - Will it be bailed out? Is it the only European country in real trouble? - did not help matters.